inFAMOUS: Winter Solstice
by Zivalene
Summary: It's Christmas in New Marais, and Zeke concocts a new story to get the girl. After taking in a homeless girl, Cole takes it upon himself to make her Christmas wish come true; to give New Marais a white Christmas. But nature has a different plan, causing the gentle snow to rage into a violent Blizzard. Cole must do what he can to keep the city warm until the Winter Solstice ends.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to December 2013 everyone! I know it's not Christmas yet, but people are putting up lights, trees and radios are playing that seasonal music right? Just kidding, I wanted to give this story enough time to get noticed during the Christmas season. I originally planned to release all the chapters at once, but with work and finals bogging me down, as well as trying to write _Legacy of the Beast_, I decided at the last minute to upload what I had so far. This will be a short story-only 3 or 4 chapters, and yes it will be finished in time for Christmas. Hope everyone enjoys it and I hope it put the Christmas spirit into your holidays!

Please Read, Write, Review and most importantly ENJOY! :)

~Zivalene

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InFAMOUS: Winter Solstice

**Chapter 1**

It's sometime around six... maybe six-thirty. I'm not really paying attention to the time, all I know is that the sun is going down, setting on a New Marais fashioned Christmas Eve. No snow, no cold. Not even the slightest bit chilly.

And even on Christmas Eve, I'm here hanging at the bar in Smut Triangle, calling on the bartender for the next round of beer. The only thing the city does right for Christmas is deck out the city in Christmas lights, a huge tree in the park across the street, those wire frame lawn ornaments that look like reindeer...

And most importantly, holiday season crime.

Sounds like a pretty bad thing, right? Yeah, maybe when there's no superhero or something to stop 'em. When you ain't got my buddy Cole MacGrath.

In a weird chain of events, Cole ended up getting electrical superpowers from this thing called a "Ray Sphere". He's a Conduit—one in a million. There's this gene he's got that lets him have superpowers. Not to mention he's damn near bulletproof, can jump off a building without breaking anything, and he's strong as an ox. Saw him lift up a couple of lamp posts once, like nothing. And even before Cole got zapped by the Ray Sphere, he had been run over by a truck and got up the next day without hardly any bruises.

But Cole ain't perfect. 'Cause of the electricity in his body, he can short out in water like a light bulb. Crime pretty much gets a free day if it rains. And he can't just zap someone any time he feels like it; he's only got so much electricity he can carry, like a battery. No power, no electricity. So if the lights ever go out in your house and it ain't storming, it's for a good cause.

And me. Well, I'm just a normal guy. Sitting on the couch all day, watching chick-flicks, reading chick magazines, drinking beer. But that's not the highlight of my day. I'm Cole's sidekick, his wing man. His brother-in-arms, more like it. If he needs something found, I'm his man. If he needs a generator turned on so he can recharge, I'm there for him. Seems like every five seconds someone is shutting off the power to get the jump on him. He needs me just as much as I need him.

Hell, one time he even needed me to save his electric ass. That's right, I saved his life. Stick Cole in a metal cage and all his electricity would be conducted to the floor. Good thing I came along when I did to bust him out.

But I don't care one bit that he gets to have all the fun. I used to. But I made the mistake of trying to be the hero. It wasn't until then that I realized that I'm better off as the wing man.

...Hey, it ain't all bad! Being Cole's friend helps me get the ladies. I'm like a chick-magnet ever since he got his powers!

And speaking of chicks...here comes one now.

She's covered up in this thick coat all buttoned up, more for the fashion than trying to stay warm. I mean, it _is_ eighty degrees outside. She's got thin brown hair and some blue-colored eye shadow. Did I mention those two-inch heels? Damn.

Not really my type.

I turn back to my beer and look up at the TV that's showing two football teams play out in the light snow somewhere up north.

Heh...snow. That's probably the one thing New Marais has never seen. The natives here would probably go bananas, run around tryin' to cover themselves up in three layers of clothes. Either that or none of the kids wouldn't know how to make snowballs or snowmen or even snow angels. What kind of childhood do these kids have without chuckin' at least one snow ball?

Then I hear the stool next to me creek and the woman that just walked in asks the tender for a little liquor in a British accent. He asks what she wants and she answers anything at all. When he turns, she sighs pretty big and takes off her coat. As if I thought this lady wasn't crazy enough, she's wearing a long sleeve shirt underneath. But the collar was...eh...low enough.

Suddenly I'm interested.

"Not enough sun where you come from?"

She looks at me, surprised I was even talking to her. More or less disgruntled like she was having a bad day.

"I suppose you could say that..." She answers while turning her eyes up to the TV.

I take off my sunglasses and set 'em down on the table. "Rainy, cold? Kinda gloomy in the motherland? You look like your day's goin' like that."

"And are you some sort of therapist?" She asks sharply.

"No," I answer honestly. "But I don't need to be a mind-reader to tell when someone ain't exactly cheery. It's almost Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year!"

The bartender returns with her drink and she takes a sip. When she sets it down, she starts again. "It would feel more like Christmas if it was colder and it snowed, liked it does in England."

An idea comes to mind.

"Well, y'know miss...uh-"

"Grace." She holds out her hand. Oh, a straightforward girl.

I take it. "Zeke Dunbar. Very nice to make your acquaintance, Miss Grace." I smile and drink a little of my beer. "Anyway, the cold and snow didn't always skip out on New Marais during the season of giving. It snowed last year, actually."

She laughs at me. "Do you really expect me to believe that? I may be from across the pond, but I know the southern half of this side of it is lucky enough to see hail once a year."

"No, no," I shook my head. "You got it all wrong. See-"

"Hey, Zeke. You got a minute?" Cole's voice comes over my phone.

Nuh-uh. Not this time. Last time I got me a chick in the palm of my hand, he swiped her away. Stole my thunder. Sure, he might help me get the ladies...but not when he's _around._

Grace looks at me with cold eyes. Women don't like it when your phone goes off and you're in the middle of paying attention to them. At least...I think that's what it was. She sees that my face is just as annoyed as hers and loosens up a little.

I push a button on my phone and say "Actually, Cole, I'm kinda in the middle of somethin'. Can this wait?"

A pause followed by a quick stutter. "Uh, no. This is important."

"Great, glad we worked things out." I click the button and muted my phone. Yeah, that's gonna bite me in the ass later.

"Who was that?" Grace asks in displeasure.

"Eh, just some guy I know," I answer simply.

"He sounded like he needed your help." She crosses her arms.

"He can take care of himself." I pick up the beer again and take a swallow. Under my breath I mutter, "Superhero, anyway..."

She scoffs. "I'm sorry...Did you say "superhero"?"

I look at her and realize I just dug myself my own grave. Cat's out of the bag now. Only thing left to do is go with it. "Yeah, I forgot that you're new around here. You don't know about me and Cole, do you?"

The phone vibrates again. I waste no time declining and turning it completely off.

"You don't seem to concerned about whatever problem he is dealing with."

"Well, like I said; he's a superhero. And every superhero's gotta have that one right-hand man, right?"

Now she looks very skeptical. The same way everyone is when they first hear about Cole. "You mean a sidekick?"

"If you wanna put it that way, sure."

The bartender walks by and she gets his attention. "Can I pay you now in case I need a quick getaway?" She reaches for her purse and starts to unzip it.

"Hold on, now. I'm serious," I rush her. "Don't you want to hear at least one Christmas story? It'll brighten up your day. I guarantee it."

She hands him the money and gets comfy, placing her elbow on the table. "Maybe I can spare a few minutes."

I smile. She's in the bag. "Trust me, this is one you'll be telling your friends in England. It's the story of how Cole saved Christmas...and pretty much the entire town."

XxXxXxX

It was December 23rd, two days before Christmas, and Cole had already started his patrol of the city. Ever since Bertrand—the last dictator of the city—got the hypothetical boot, crime went way down; No more militia putting the fear of God into anyone who walked the streets, no more swamp monsters, no more bombs made out of Blast Shards. Now there was just the usual car thief or shop-lifter.

Cole never really needed to use his powers anymore. The only time it was necessary was if someone had a gun or was a real threat that could hurt someone. Otherwise, he was still running and jumping on rooftops like normal.

The day had been dull and there hadn't been a lot of action. If anything did happen, the cops had it under control or the problem was so small that both Cole and the cops only saw it as an annoyance. He had made his way to Smut Triangle where crime was at least probable.

There he sat in boredom on top of the Hush Movie Theater, where all the best western movies got the big screen treatment. A choir from the Church of Saint Ignacius sang carols beside the tree in the center of the park. As he scanned the area, he noticed that the star on top of the tree had flickered out. He smirked and shot a bolt of lightning at the star, with the lightest touch he possibly could. Too much and the bulb would explode. It sparked back to life, and the entire square looked up to see him there and gave their spirited salutations.

It felt good for him to let out all that energy he had in his body. Not using his powers as much as he used to made him feel like he was going to burst.

He started looking again. All was quiet in terms of insecurity as people bustled into stores shopping for Christmas gifts. No one shouted for help, no security alarms went off in the stores, no feeble old lady shouted "someone stole my purse!"

The only thing remotely wrong he saw was some guy that parked his car in front of a handicap ramp to the sidewalk. Right in front of him too. That's like running a red light in front of a cop. Maybe the guy wasn't interested in what was playing at the theater so he didn't notice him.

Normally Cole would have let a cop handle it, but it was the first bit of wrong-doing he'd seen all day.

"You can't park there, y'know," he raised his voice.

The man stopped and looked up at him. "Don't you have a light bulb to change?"

Cole crossed his left leg over his right, interested in the challenge. "You're not one of my fans, I see."

"You could say that." The man glared back up at him.

"Yeah, well you know what I'm not? A cop. If you don't park somewhere else, I can promise you I won't be careful like the tow truck."

The driver just blew him off and continued on his way with a wave of his hand.

Cole watched as he walked into a nearby clothing store and shrugged. "Alright..." He hopped off and hit the sidewalk as painless as possible. As he approached the car, he noticed a young woman coming out of the theater towards him in a wheelchair. She immediately wore a disappointed face when she saw the ramp had been blocked by some able-bodied asshole.

He smiled at her then said, "Hold on, let me get that for you." Cole turned to the car and thrust his hands toward it, then pantomimed lifting something over his head. The car began to glow as he lifted it off the ground with electromagnetism. Cole gently moved it across the street and off the crosswalk. The landing however was much more purposefully rough.

When he turned back, the woman had a smile on her face brighter than Rudolph's nose. "Thank you, Mr. MacGrath."

"My pleasure, miss." Cole waited for her to roll up beside him, then he raised his hand to on-coming traffic signaling them to stop before escorting her across the street.

"People... They're so inconsiderate," she mutter to him.

"Tell me about it," he agreed. "I gotta deal with it every day, being a superhero and all."

She laughed even though he hadn't intended on making a joke. "The world needs more people like you. Not necessarily super-powered people, but people that will stop for a moment and consider their actions."

"Heh," he laughed back. "I get that a lot."

They made it to the other side and she said, "Well, it was nice meeting you."

"You too," Cole nodded. "Have a merry Christmas."

She smiled then rolled into the park to listen to the choir perform their carols. He stood and watched a moment, taking it all in. The sound of the choir, the lights and decorations, people rushing around with bags and boxes meant as gifts to be placed beneath the tree. It was starting to feel like Christmas. The only thing missing was the holiday cheer instead of the humbug and bad parking.

"Ah, Cole! Fancy running into you here." And older man approached him in a sweater with open arms to greet him.

"Reverend Johnson," Cole returned. "I see your carolers are getting the attention they deserve."

"Yes, yes, we've been having a few rehearsals to make sure they're up to snuff. Actually, I wanted to ask you a favor."

"Sure."

The reverend got right to the point. "See, we're getting ready for our big Christmas mass at the chapel and well, we were hoping you could help us set it up. It's more like a party—food, drinks, music, games—a lock-in, if you will."

"Yeah, I'll help out. Do you need it done by tomorrow? I mean, when do I need to show up?"

"Anytime is fine, whenever you find a moment. We've already started preparing, so you can go now since it seems you don't have too much on your hands."

Cole frowned. "Is it that obvious?"

Johnson laughed. "Helping handicaps across the street isn't something too many people often stop what they're doing to attend to."

"Uh, yeah..." Cole brought a hand to the back of his neck. "You know, I think I'll head over there."

"Thank you, Cole. If everything goes according to plan, we'll have the event tomorrow evening, just in time."

"No problem, I'll see what I can do."

Cole made his way over to the church, still keeping an eye out for any crime that might brighten up his day. It didn't take long to get there despite walking. All he had to do was go through a back alley and walk a couple blocks and he was there.

There were Christmas lights strung around the fence that surrounded the building. The lamp posts had been disabled, replaced with lanterns and laced with colorful lights. The church-grounds alone felt more into the Christmas spirit than the rest of the town put together.

He entered through the large wooden double-doors into the chapel. Inside there were people rushing around carrying chairs and table back and forth. Others were hanging up ornaments, decoration and garland on the pews and walls. The same lanterns from outside were also being hung in here, as well as a number of religious aspects of the holiday. There were cut-outs and painting moved into the room depicting the nativity of Christmas, the three wise men and the birth of baby Jesus.

Cole stopped a woman who had just finished hauling a few chairs into a side room where the food was to be set. "Excuse me, the Reverend asked me to help out around here. Is there anything I can do?"

"Umm..." She puffed out some air which elevated one of her bangs then quickly smoothed onto the top of her head. "We've got a lot of it handled. But maybe you could do some heavy lifting that would take five of us to do?"

"Got anything in mind?"

"Actually, I think some of the guys just got back with a tree they could use help carrying in."

"Sure," Cole agreed without hesitation. "If there's anything else you can think of, let me know." He the left her to continue her work.

Back outside he found a group of three men struggling with a surprisingly large Christmas tree. So large, in fact, that it had to be loaded onto a long-bed truck with a trailer being tugged behind it—and it _still_ hung off the back end.

As Cole approached them, they had just unloaded it from the back with obvious trouble. He announced himself quickly before anyone got hurt. "Hey, hey guys! Easy. The tree is gonna die naturally, let's keep it alive for a few more days."

They stopped immediately and relaxed, rolling their arms and rotating knots out of their necks. Their hands and faces were red and sweat dripped from their temples.

"MacGrath," one of them greeted with visible gratitude. "Please tell me you're here to help."

"Yep. And it looks like I got here before someone broke their neck." Cole put his hands on his hips. "Did you really need to get a tree this big?"

The three men only stared at each other then quickly found part of the church-grounds to give their attention to. Shaking his head, Cole couldn't bring himself to outright insult their poor planning during the holidays.

"Y'know what... never mind. One of you find a tarp and put it where you want the tree. The other two can hold the door."

The three looked at him expectantly. "You, uh, don't want help with carrying it in? It takes a few people just to get it off the ground."

"Nah." Cole walked towards the tree. "I'll barely need to lift a finger."

He brought his hands up to his shoulder as if he were lifting a heavy load. The evergreen glowed a blue aura when Cole sparked up his hands and it began to float.

The group nearly stumbled in shock as they ran to do as he had asked and kept their tongues relatively caught in the proverbial cat's paw. Two of them rushed to open the doors to the chapel, while the remaining one hurried inside and fetched a large white tablecloth from a closet.

Cole brought the tree inside as the stand-in tarp was laid out in the corner at the front of the room. His powers levitating it above his head attracted everyone's attention towards him. He saw his three helpers standing still, only watching in awe when there was obviously more to be done.

"Hey, you guys got a tree stand or something?" The one who had been tasked with bringing out the tarp turned red in the face as he dashed back to the closet. Cole rotated the tree to face it upwards. "Hurry up, my powers only last so long."

The volunteer hurried back with stand in-hand and set it beneath the trunk of the floating tree, into which Cole lightly set it down. Then the three stooges began to screw the stand and tree together.

Needless to say those annoying screws ever cooperate when you need them to. It took longer than a couple minutes for one screw to get settled, the second longer still. The third didn't make it in my the time Cole's energy reserves finally ran dry.

Someone had the nerve to shout "timber" as the tree and stand both began to topple over. In this case, it wasn't so humorous as much as necessary. The one remaining man trying to fasten the stand had not noticed that Christmas was about to fall on top of him.

When Cole's powers wouldn't respond he dashed beneath the tree and shoved the clueless stooge out of the way, bracing the tree with his shoulder and one hand. He righted the tree again and held it firm until one of his helper could properly support it with the final screw put into place.

"Jesus," Cole sighed, "you guys go out and buy a sixteen-foot tree that weighs a ton and you can't even set it up without killing someone..."

"Well, look at the bright side," one of them smiled shyly, "you saved us a lot of time and trouble helping us out."

"No kidding." Stepped out from underneath the tree and rolled his shoulder. The three men then went on to untying the branches of the tree and brought out the decorations.

"Careful what you say," a voice approached him. "People around here would find that offensive." It was a woman with dark hair, tinted blue. She was dressed in a black tank-top and dress pants. But the real fancy part were her arms that were frozen solid in a thin layer of ice cold enough to chill the air around her.

Lucy Kuo was a Conduit as well. Her power was the ability to control ice. However, unlike Cole, it was Bertrand that had given her her powers from some weird experiments, not a Ray Sphere. But she was no more or less capable of dishing out justice than he was. The only real difference was their attitudes. Sure, at one point Cole didn't want his powers either. Hell, he outright denied superpowers existed. Kuo on the other hand, tried to hide her powers day in and day out, felt like an outcast and a stranger to man kind. As you'd expect, Cole was there to show her the ropes, teach her how to use her powers, and slowly over time she started to feel more comfortable about being a Conduit.

"Kuo." Cole greeted her with a slight dash of charm. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"I volunteer to help out every year. Being in the NSA didn't keep me from giving my time to charity."

The electric man looked at her, puzzled. "Charity?"

"Well, yeah." she explained, "This isn't just a mass or lock-in. It's a temporary shelter for the homeless and less fortunate during Christmas. Everyone brings some food and blankets to settle them in, and maybe a few presents here or there to give them a helping hand. Ever since Bertrand moved in, a lot of people lost their jobs and homes to the militia, and it's been rough trying to get the pieces back into place."

"Wow..." Cole took a sincere glance around the room. It wasn't until now did he notice the extra food coming in, and pillows and blankets being piled on the side of the room. A few wrapped packages were being brought up to the stage in front, while more and more continued to be rushed in.

He saw some of those poor souls every day; sick, digging through dumpsters for food and sleeping in the parks and cemeteries. And this is just in New Marais. Back in Empire City it was the same thing, except this was the entire city, not just a few. When he had gotten his powers from the Ray Sphere back in Empire he caused the plague and the quarantine of the whole city. Not a day didn't go by when Cole didn't stop and think back on the damage he'd done, but he spent every day trying to fix it.

What more could he do for these people? Maybe they were in the position they were in because of him; or maybe they weren't. Already he had kicked Bertrand to the curb, but that wasn't enough. It would take time for them to get back on their feet. And he felt that his work wasn't finished yet.

More importantly, there was an ache in his heart as he took in the Christmas setting. There was something missing... There was _someone_ missing-Trish, Cole's late girlfriend. She'd take part in charities like this all the time, helping the homeless, raising money for cancer awareness, donate to the less fortunate. Christmas with her was always about giving to those who needed it, and family and friends came second unless they helped her. She'd give and give until she dropped, only taking a break on Christmas day to be with Cole. And when that was over it was back to the clinic to nurse the injured and weak back to health until next December.

Without her...it wasn't the same. Although it hurt to think about it, Cole was only encouraged more to help Kuo. He hadn't helped enough when Trish was around, but now he could pick up where she left off. It was a late start, but a start nonetheless.

"In that case, what else can I do?"

Together, Cole and Kuo pretty much set up the rest of the preparations themselves. They helped bring in some of the other heavy stuff like decorative art and sculptures. Yeah, these guys went out of their way to wish Baby Jesus a happy birthday. They helped decorate the tree and the rest of the courtyard. It even got to the point where Cole needed to use some of his powers with a little parkour to string the lights on at the top of the tree, not to mention the star. His energy might have run dry, but there was still enough for simple things.

Once they had finished, Reverend Johnson appeared to check on their progress. He was surprised to find that the work had already been finished in record time. The only thing that was left to finish the food the next day that would need to be made fresh. As a thanks for all his help, Johnson offered Cole twenty bucks, which he refused upwards five times before the Reverend slapped the bill into his hand and left without another word. When Cole asked Kuo why she wasn't offered any money, she said that it was NSA policy not to take money offered to her.

The two of them left together after making sure there was nothing else they could do to help. Cole, needless to say, was glowing with pride for doing his part in making a difference for someone in need. He saved people every day from muggers and carjackers, but there was something much more pleasing in putting in your time to help those who could not help themselves. It was the help he was able to give. When it came to the plague, it never made a difference what he did. He could resuscitate their hearts with his powers and heal their wounds in seconds, but they all died of their illness within hours of his aid. And compared to his childhood living with the kind of parents you could never please and the little brother they never bothered to take care of, it was a whole new kind of worth he found in himself.

"I'm proud of what you've done to help out, Cole, but it's not exactly solving world hunger here," said Kuo as they headed out the door.

"Nah, you don't get it Kuo." He smiled. "Only a few months ago, I was trying to save an entire city that was already dead. Now, even though it might not be a big deal to anyone else, I can do something to get these people out of the gutter. Finally, I'm fixing something that _isn't _my fault."

"That's one way to put it, I suppose." The other looked at him. "But don't forget, Cole, there's still a cure for the plague we're supposed to be looking for."

"Chill out, Kuo." Another voice came to them then, from above their heads. Perched on an arch that hung above the entrance to the courtyard was Nix, the last of the trio of Conduits. Her powers focused on fire and napalm, and her personality was no exception. "Let the man do what he wants. Even if it is holdin' the hands of the fools that can't keep their heads above water."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Nix." Kuo scowled.

As you would expect, Nix and Kuo didn't exactly get along too well—complete opposites. If their powers being fire and ice didn't send you a message it was their ideals. Kuo did things for the good of others and Nix...well Nix did things for Nix. She was raised in the swamps around New Marais, lived off the law of the land, until one day Bertrand showed up with a Ray Sphere and blasted her family to dust, leaving her with the powers she has today. But Kuo never let this slide as an excuse for her behavior.

Nix, in her tribal clothing and dreadlocks, made her way down to their side in a acrobatic fashion. "Ehh, I wasn't ever a fan of Christmas. Kids worshiping a big red fat-ass and parents killing each other over presents _for _the whiny brats."

"No surprise there..." Kuo said under her breath.

Cole jabbed his elbow into her shoulder. "Come on, Nix. The whole Santa thing is for the kids. Christmas is about giving and showing someone you care."

The three of them began walking. "I don't _care _about no one." Nix answered forwardly. "Except maybe you, Cole."

"Good to know..." Cole shrugged as he looked over at Kuo. Normally he was required to break up whatever fights these two got into. Most of the time he managed to calm them down before anyone powered up. After that point he had no choice but to wait out the flames of war.

Kuo was visibly struggling to keep her cool and not blow up. "Well, certainly there's _someone _that cares about you. "

"Yeah, that _someone_ bein' Cole."

"Why am I always the middle man between you two?"

"You're the one that found her in the swamp, Cole. She's your problem now." Kuo rolled her eyes.

"I hear _someone_ couldn't hold her own against the militia," Nix darted her eyes at the ice Conduit, "and I agreed to help get you out."

"See, you do care about someone other than Cole," she glared back.

"Findin' you meant findin' Bertrand. I couldn't have cared less that he dragged your frozen butt out of that dump."

Kuo balled her fists and Cole felt the hairs on the back of his hand tingle. He didn't say anything, only grabbed her wrist tightly until she eased up. "You're right, Nix," she seethed through her teeth. "Thank you, for helping me when I needed it."

Nix saw this gesture and didn't say another word. However, Cole could see the frustration in her eyes. It was no secret that she was always out for Cole, and she somehow had it in her mind that Kuo was the competition. What she didn't know was that Cole had no intention on getting hitched with either of them. After losing his girlfriend Trish, he didn't have the heart to go off and find another girl. And to his surprise, it seemed like Kuo never payed the outlook of his mourning when they first met any thought either.

The three of them passed a small alley. Cole stopped when he heard something rattling.

It was a young girl sitting against a dumpster, and an even younger boy sleeping beside her. In her hand was a tin can that she was shaking in hopes of being noticed. She looked up at the three and then looked inside of her can. She glanced up again and found his eyes, then held out her can shyly.

Cole peeked inside and saw they had only a few dollars in change in the can. She was asking for a donation, and he saw she was too ashamed to flat out ask for the money. He smiled warmly. "Here," he reached into his pocket for the twenty-dollar bill the Reverend had given him. "Go buy yourselves something nice." Then he dropped it in.

Her face lit up so bright she almost gleamed. The girl looked inside as if she had imagined seeing such a hefty donation. On the verge of crying she grappled onto his leg, which took Cole aback for a moment. "Thank you so much, Mister."

"My pleasure. But you know, you could go to that church down the street. They've got food and a warm place for you two to stay for the night."

With this news she gave him a hundred 'thank yous' before they continued walking.

"Now _that_ was a very nice thing to do, Cole," Kuo said, looking him in the eye. "You could learn something, Nix."

"That twenty piece won't last them a day." She replied coldly.

"Maybe not, but it will buy them enough food to get by after the church kicks them out. Besides, I told Johnson ten times-"

_Bam!_

A gunshot! And someone screaming!

Cole turned on his heel and raced back to the alley. The little girl was crying on the ground, covering her head with her arms. There was blood splattered on the walls. And someone was running away with something in his hands that made a clattering sound.

"Hey!" He called after the gunman. The masked person whirled around, saw him and fired off a shot. Cole ducked as it whizzed past his neck.

He threw out his arm, intending on lassoing the offender with a tether of electricity. Cole cursed when nothing but bright sparks flew from his fingers. He had forgotten to recharge. His feet were moving in an instant.

"Kuo! Stop him!" He shouted as she flew after him in a flurry of snow.

Another shot rang out and Lucy materialized and slammed into the ground, grasping her shoulder. "Damn!" She sent out a flurry of ice from her fingers to stop him in his tracks, but he had already rounded the corner.

Cole went around the bend just as fast, running between the two walls to cut his time in half around the turn, and vaulting over the stairs that led into a back entrance. The gunman swiveled around and shot off a few more shots, barely missing Cole as he closed in.

Next thing they both knew, Nix appeared in his path and tripped him in a cloud of smoke, sending the thief crashing into the concrete. The can and money clinked to the ground beside him. Cole was on him in an instant, using what little power he had left to restrain his arms and legs to the ground in electromagnetic cuffs.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" Nix crossed her arms.

"What kind of guy has the nerve to steal change from a couple of homeless kids," Cole demanded as he yanked off the man's mask. Beneath it was a man with messy brown hair that he had seen before. "Wait, you're that asshole who doesn't know how to park."

"Thought I'd have a free day with you wasting your time in that church."

"Big mistake," he scowled. "Wait here. The cops'll be here to pick you up. And don't expect those restraints to wear out."

Kuo rubbed her shoulder as Cole started to pick up the coins and bill and put them back in the cup. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a scratch, that's all."

Cole turned back to head down the alley towards the two children. "A scratch wouldn't land you in the dirt."

When the three of them returned to the children, they found the girl crying near her brother. He had been shot in the head and killed. She begged Cole to use his powers to heal him, to which he only answered that it wouldn't work, speaking from experience. Only once had he been able to revive the dead, but only long enough for her to tell him goodbye.

He apologized for not being able to save her brother, then returned her change and escorted her to the church.

"Thanks for helping out back there, Nix," he said once Kuo and the volunteers calmed the girl down. "Can't say I expected you to, though."

She didn't look at him. Only stared while the little girl was bundled into a blanket and given a glass of water. "Stealin' money from kids...that's low."

Cole watched her for a moment, seeing that there was an interest in her dark eyes. "There something you want to tell me?"

She didn't answer him immediately. She waited for Kuo to turn away and be out of ear shot. "Nah. Maybe later."


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry, everyone. I seriously intended on getting this finished. I won't make the same busy excuse, but this time I was blocked from getting into my FanFiction account due to a server error. Only today did it get fixed and now I'm making up for it.

Christmas may have come and gone, but hopefully some of you may find some enjoyment out of this and on into next holiday season. :)

* * *

Chapter 2

The next morning, Cole went back to the church to check on the girl he had saved the day before. He was relived when he found that someone had stayed behind to watch after her. She had been fed very graciously and given new clothes to wear.

He found her sitting in the front row of pews, staring at the rays of morning sunlight pouring in from the stain-glass windows. Sitting down beside her, he could see she was in deep thought, her eyes lonely and sad.

"Hey," Cole put his hand on her small shoulder, "you doing okay?"

She looked at him and tried to smile. "They're nice to me here. Thank you, mister Cole, for bringing me here."

"I couldn't just leave you there alone. And you can just call me 'Cole'." He looked over her face. They had cleaned her up since he last saw her, washed the dirt and blood off of her. "Since you know me so well, what's your name?"

"..Lilly Williams."

"Nice to meet you Lilly," he smiled at her. "Is it okay if you tell me why you don't have a house to live in?" She didn't answer him. She found the colorful lights on the floor to focus on, as it seemed that her voice had been lost. "It's fine if you don't want to."

"Those mean men in the masks took Daddy away. They came to our house looking for police men and they found Daddy. They pointed their guns at me and Jesse and said that they would hurt us if he didn't go with them."

'_So, he was one of the cops that were abducted when Bertrand's militia took over._'

"What about your mom, Lilly?"

She was clearly struggling to continue, her eyes starting to tear up and her mouth forming that frown you can't help but make when you cry. "She tried to stop them. But then there were a lot of loud noises and she fell down. Jesse tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't." Her voice raised an octave as she continued. "We stayed in the house, too scared to leave. More of them came saying we couldn't stay anymore and told us to leave."

Cole sat quietly and watched her cry for a moment, trying to imagine the fear Lilly and her younger brother must have felt as the militia took both of their parents from them. He moved to the podium in the front and felt inside and found a box of tissues, in case of those emotional teary moments they would have during mass. He sat back down and handed her a few.

"I'm sorry, Lilly. That must have been terrifying. I'm proud that you were brave enough to tell me." She wiped her eyes some and sniffled as she looked up at him. When her innocent eyes found his, he took her small hand to calm her. "Losing your parents to the militia, then your brother to some low-life thug... I'll make it up to you, I promise." Then he brightened his tone. "It's almost Christmas. I'll tell Santa to give you something special."

She frowned. "Santa doesn't exist."

He mirrored her. "Sure he does. Why would you say that?"

"Because everyone tells me he doesn't. If he did, it would snow too, wouldn't it?"

Cole paused a moment, and watched as her face waited for his answer. He laughed and said, "So, you're telling me that if it snows in New Marais, then Santa Clause exists, right?" Lilly complied. Cole shrugged and only said, "If you say so."

He stayed long enough for her to cheer up and stop crying. Then he thanked the volunteers for taking care of her and left.

"Let me get this straight... You want to make it snow in New Marais just because this homeless girl doesn't believe in Santa?"

"Not because she doesn't believe in Santa, Zeke," Cole grabbed a beer out of the cooler as he went over the idea one more time. "Because she lost her parents. Her brother got shot right in front of her and I could have prevented it. I owe it to her."

"Come on, Cole." I sat down in a lawn chair we had found to decorate our rooftop headquarters. "This sounds more like a guilt trip than a selfless deed." He had been pacing as he pitched the idea to me, and for the first time he turned away from me. "You're not thinking about what happened to Trish are 'ya?"

He spun around. "This has got nothing to do with Trish."

It was like chumming a river full of gators when his late girlfriend was brought up. He tried to save her, but there was nothing he could do. He kept it under wraps most of the time but that didn't mean he didn't feel any less helpless about it; Any less like he could have done something to keep her alive.

I put up my hands quickly. "I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I'm just saying that you should do this for the girl and not yourself."

"It is for her. She's just a kid and she practically lost whatever childhood she had left along with her family. If she believed in Santa, then she'd still have some of that innocence left, y'know?" He said it defensively. I couldn't tell if he was being honest or lying through his teeth about his own thoughts about it. Either way it was obviously something he really wanted to do. Who was I to tell a super hero 'no' because I thought he was going about it the wrong way?

To tell you the truth, a little snow would be nice to see for once.

"There you are," the two of us looked to find Lucy Kuo appearing from a mist of ice crystals, "I've been looking for you."

"Ah, Kuo," Cole set the drink down and walked towards her. "Just who I wanted to see."

She put her hands on her hips. "How convenient for both of us, because the mayor's been trying to reach you on your phone. He called me instead."

Cole checked his phone. "Oh, it's dead. That's inconvenient." Kuo shook her head as he sent a small stream of electricity from his finger into his phone and the screen lit up. "And now it's charged. What did he want?"

"He wants to meet you at his office, says it's about the annual tree lighting tonight."

"This one _is_ already set up, right?" Cole asked with slight annoyance.

Kuo looked at me with a crooked mouth. "He can't possibly be drunk at ten in the morning, is he?"

"Drunk?" I raise my eyebrows. "Hell no. He hasn't even opened his first one. He's just a little pissed because I mentioned Trish."

She looked back at Cole and noticed he did seem a little ticked off. "Can I ask what this is about?"

"To put it simply..." Cole paused and tried to lighten his mood. "I want you to make it snow."

Kuo gave him a sideways look. "I'm sorry," she scoffed, "what?"

"That girl we saved yesterday, Lilly, she wants it to snow for Christmas this year." Lucy sighed and put her hand to her forehead, as if she couldn't believe what he just said. "Listen, Kuo, she's real upset about what happened."

"She was the victim of a street robbery, and her brother was murdered, who wouldn't be?" She said quickly.

"She's on the street because the militia kidnapped her father and gunned down her mother." Kuo became silent and still, her arms falling back to her side. "She's been through enough. Can't she get one thing to go right for her? Can't we make her happy for once after her life went to hell?"

Lucy stared at him, watching his face become more insistent. I could see her going through the same thought process in her head as I had—knowing that she couldn't say 'no' to him on the grounds of such a request. It wasn't like he was asking her to help him bury a body or anything insane like that. All he wanted was to turn a little orphan girl's life around for one day.

She sighed and pulled together a quaint smile. "Alright, fine. I'll make it snow." Cole grinned back at her. "I just want you to think about the circumstances of what you're asking me to do before I do it."

"We're just going to make it a little bit chilly for one day, Kuo. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Cole, you know there's more to it than that. Think about what you're expecting these people to put up with for twenty-four hours. How many of them do you think own clothing fit for temperatures below thirty degrees?"

"They can bundle up in multiple layers of clothes," Cole answered back, as if he had already seen this very conversation coming from her. "It'll be fine, Kuo. And if they get too uncomfortable, you can just make it stop snowing, right?"

She had that face again. The one that she knew she couldn't say 'no'. She wasn't trying to disappoint him or give him a hard time. It was that she was concerned about the entire city, where Cole only had Lilly's happiness in mind.

"I could," she admitted.

"Then we've got all the corners covered," Cole surmised.

"Great..." Kuo nodded her head and took a few shifting steps. She had more to say, it didn't take a shrink to see that. But she let it go and changed the subject back to business. "I'll go call the mayor, let him know you'll be coming."

She turned and walked through the entrance to the stairwell, removing her cell phone from her pocket as she disappeared from view.

With all the drama subsided, I turned my eyes down to the screen of my laptop. All the talk of snow got me thinking about the weather. What kind of Christmas would we be havin' if Mother Nature's plans were still irrefutable. The top story of my search query caught my attention.

"Huh... That's weird," I said as I clicked the link to read more.

"What?" Asked Cole, who walked up beside me. "Did one of your magazine subscriptions not come in this month?"

"Not that," said I, ignoring his tease. "Says here the winter solstice isn't going to happen until tonight."

"So? Doesn't that always happen this time of year?"

"You're right, it does," I confirmed. "The problem is that it normally happens between the 21st and 23rd of this month. It's coming a few days late."

Cole scanned his eyes across the page for a few seconds, reading the same information I had. "So the moon is a few days late... It does this weird thing every few months too where it turns red, maybe we should call NASA to investigate."

"Harvest moons are normal, Cole," I replied, knowing he only meant it as a joke. "This isn't normal. The universe has its own schedule, it keeps everything in check. Who knows what a little change in season could do to the weather."

Cole looked at me, his face lacking interest. "While all that sounds urgent, Captain Planet, I need you to do me a favor."

I closed my laptop and eyed him back. "Since you're not interested in astrological crises, I suppose I can see to your needs."

My friend cocked his mouth. He didn't like that as much as I enjoyed his teasing. "Lilly said the militia came and took her father away. He was a cop. Maybe it's possible he was one of the ones that were let go after they were forced to disband."

I caught on quick. "So you want me to find out if he's out walking the streets or if he's a stiff in the ground?"

He nodded. "For her sake, I hope he's still alive."

"Hell, Cole," I laughed. "If he's still alive, snow and Santa Claus don't amount to a pile of reindeer shit."

"My thoughts exactly," he obliged.

"Sure. I'll see what I can find while you and Kuo are out dealing with this tree lighting deal."

Cole smiled. "Thanks, Zeke. I owe you one."

I started my investigation at the local police department headquarters. If there was any information to be found on Lilly's dad, it had to be here.

My only worry was that his employment record had been erased since the militia moved in and made the building into their recruitment center. The cops had reclaimed it since Cole evicted the stand-alone "law enforcement" ground, but in my time undercover spying on the militia, I'd heard plenty of water-cooler chats about how the "police removal" force had burned and deleted all the files. Maybe there was a back-up, some other office that kept the same records in case something like this happened.

As I walked in, the first thing I noticed was how clean and bright it was. The place was lively with officers and detectives chattering and waking about, phones ringing off the hook. It was completely turned around from what it had looked like when I went there to quote-unquote, "get employed" as a militia goon.

I approached the receptionist's counter. "Excuse me."

The woman looked up from whatever paperwork she had been filing and gave me her full attention. "Yes sir, how may I help you?"

"Does officer Williams still work here?"  
"I can check for you real quick, one moment." She turned and started typing away on a keyboard. A computer monitor's blue glow lit up her face as she searched the employee database. She frowned then looked at me once more. "Unfortunately, all of our records have recently been rebuilt after a take over from Bertrand's militia. If there was anyone who worked here and hasn't returned, they wouldn't appear on our computers."

" I was afraid of that," I admitted, mirroring her disappointed face. "Would you happen to know of the man I'm referring to?"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. There's nothin' you can do. Thank you for your time."

Then I turned and left the station.

I wasn't about to let Cole down with one mishap. I still had one more idea to find Lilly's father. But first I had to track down one of my old militia buddies. This one in particular, I knew, was on the team that kidnapped cops. He'd know about the man I was looking for, but whether or not he would be willing to tell me what he knew or if he even remembered the specific cop had yet to be seen.

I tracked down his home address using the online white pages. His last known living space was in a cul-de-sac near the canal on the east side of town. All the houses here were classic family homes with a wooden porch and central air conditioning. There were no fences to judge backyard space, the entire neighborhood was one big yard for the kids to play in.

Figuring out which house was his wasn't too hard. It was the only one that lacked Christmas decorations, cute seasonal place mats or a reef on the front door. I understood that not everyone enjoyed Christmas, but being the only one not participating in a small neighborhood was just a downer.

The wood of his porch creaked under the weight of my shoes. I knocked three times and waited. After a few seconds I heard multiple locks come undone before the door groaned open. Beneath the frame stood a tall, grizzled man with a mullet. He frowned as he looked me over.

"What you doin' on my doorstep, boy?" He said in a cracked, southern drawl.

"I just came to talk, Horace," I answered calmly.

"You got that partner of yours with you?" He asked cautiously.

"Nope. Just me," I replied.

He scanned around the circled street before stepping to the side to let me in. His home was dusty, some knick-knacks sat on top of wooden tables with fake greenery. Seemed more like an old woman's home to me. If nothing else gave me that impression, it was the living room furniture. The cushions on the couch were made of some kinda cheap felt.

Then of course there had to be a cat. I nearly stepped on it trying to get to the couch. It yowled and hissed as it pranced away.

"That's just Whiskers," said Horace. "Don't pay her no mind; she ain't kind to strangers."

"Heh, I wouldn't be either if someone came into my house and woke me up."

The two of us sat down, me on the couch and Horace on a reclining chair. He looked at me as if waiting for me to start first. I thought starting off with small talk would help me reel him in easier. "This is a nice place you got here. It's quiet…quaint."

"It was my ma's," he admitted. "Realtors were gonna sell it after she passed. I was out of a home at the time, thought I'd move in. Haven't gotten around to personalizing the furniture yet."

Looks like I wasn't too far off about the old lady owning the house.

"And Whiskers?"

"Outlived the old lady. She's not too far behind her, though."

Dead relatives and a dying cat wasn't exactly the kick-off I was hoping for. Suddenly business seemed a lot more appropriate to talk about.

"Look, Horace," I started, "I'm really here on a favor for Cole."

He narrowed his eyes. "You ain't here to cuff me, are ya'?"

"No, no," I shook my head, "nothin' like that. 'Sides, I couldn't cuff you anyway, I'm not a cop. But I'm lookin' for one. I was hopin' you could help me find out where he is."

The ex-militia member paused, seeming to measure the validity of my words. Then he nodded. "Jog my memory."

I was slightly relived, at least he was willing to help.

"During one of your raids to an officer's house, you and your crew came across a man, his wife and two kids—a boy and a girl. You shot and killed the wife before taking him away, leaving the two kids in the house alone with their mom's decomposing body." Just explaining gave me a bad taste in my mouth. I watched his reactions, and he didn't seem to be taking my story any easier than I was. "A week later, y'all came back and kicked those kids out on the street to fend for themselves."

Horace took a moment to answer, like he was trying to remember the events. "That's right. I remember officer Williams."

Good. That's one step closer.

"Cole found the kids begging for money in an alley. A mugger shot the brother and he's watching after the girl. He wants to know if her father's still alive so he can bring them back together."

Underneath that crusty, killer exterior, Horace seemed touched. He let the silence last a bit longer as he processed the information in his mind. Then spoke.

"Y'know, Zeke…" he started slowly, "you spyin' on us was probably one of the best things you could have done for this town. After Bertrand died, I couldn't help but feel like a free man. He lied to us, used us, and I will always regret letting him force me to do the things I did."

I must've struck a chord in his heart strings.

"I personally let officer Williams go free once Bertrand was gone. He was damn near starved to death. I tried to help him, but he wouldn't have it."

My spirits lifted. I might still get my answer.

"Do you have any idea where he might be now?" I asked.

He shook his head, unsure. "One of my guys set fire to his home. He's either dead, homeless, or in the hospital."

"Hospital...?" It hit me. If he was in the hospital for malnutrition all this time, it would make sense as to why he hasn't found Lilly yet or got his job back. I whipped out my phone. "What's the number for the hospital?"

He told me and my finger dialed so fast I had to start over a couple times. After a few rings, a woman answered.

"Parish Regional Hospital."

"Yes, is there a patient there by the name of Williams?"

"Are you a relative of the patient's?"

"No," I answered honestly. "But we found his lost daughter. He's a police officer."

I hear the clicking of keyboard keys through the phone. I bit my lip as I awaited her answer.

"There is a patient here by the name of Trevor Williams. According to the information he's provided, he is in fact an officer."

"Is he there for treatment of malnutrition?" My words blurred together. Had I finally found him?

A pause. "Yes, he have him on a recovery diet."

Yes! "That's him! Thank you so much!"

I hung up and immediately got to speed dialing Cole. I looked to Horace, whom I had never seen happier.

"Zeke," Cole's voice came over the speaker. "Did you find anything on our guy?"

"Boy, you'd better believe it," I told him giddily. "Lilly's dad is staying at the Parish Regional Hospital getting treated for starvation. I just talked to a receptionist, said so herself."

I heard Cole laugh joyfully. "Nice work, Z! I knew I could count on you!"

"Don't mention it, now get your ass over to that hospital."

"Alright, I'll let you know if anything comes up."

My phone beeped as I hung up and I put it back in my pocket. I looked to Horace and smiled, who also shard the satisfied emotion.

"Thank you, Horace. We couldn't have done it without you."

"After what you and your buddy have done, it was the least I could do. I was glad to help."

Meeting Horace again made me really get the Christmas spirit going. He was helpin' us get a family back together. It made me realize why Cole was so gung-ho to help this girl. Now it was starting to look like this would be the best Christmas Lilly was ever going to have.

"Mister Mayor? Cole MacGrath is here to see you," reported the office secretary, peeking in on the newly elected Mayor Tatou.

"Good! Good, send him in." A moment later, Cole and Kuo entered the room. The mayor stood and smiled as he welcomed them. "Mister MacGrath! Pleased to finally meet you!" He held out his right and Cole complied.

"Likewise, sir."

Then the mayor reached for Kuo's. "And I appreciate you taking my phone call, Miss Kuo. Don't know where I'd be without you."

"Absolutely, sir," she took his hand and shook it.

Then the mayor offered them a seat on the other side of his desk. "Now, Cole... I think it goes without saying how grateful this city is to have you here watching over her. Even more so, there's no one else the people would rather have than you to take part in the annual tree lighting. I hope you've had enough time to think about it?"

Cole nodded. "I'd be more than happy to do it. Just tell me when and where."

"Well," the mayor started again, "the event is tonight at eight o'clock, at the clock tower I'll introduce you, you say a few words then light the tree."

"A public speech, huh?" Cole crooked his mouth. "Can't say I've ever done that before."

"Just say whatever comes to mind," Tatou reassured him. "But don't say anything that would lose me my job." He meant it as a joke, half chuckling as he spoke with a grin.

Cole paused to think for a moment. "Actually, sir. I think there is something I'll need your permission on."

"Shoot."

My friend looked to Kuo, who motioned approvingly waiting for him to continue. "Last night, I found a girl, homeless and begging on the street. I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she said she wanted it to snow. Kuo has agreed to make it happen with your approval, sir." He stopped and watched the mayor's reaction. His face twisted, estranged to the proposal. It was funny, that human beings had to ask other human being for permission to create a natural phenomenon. "We'll only have it last until tomorrow night, and the snow should melt by the time the sun comes up the day after Christmas."

The man behind the desk laced his hands together and pressed them against his lips. He grumbled as he thought about the proposal. As questions popped into his mind he mentioned them to Cole, such as how cold it was going to get, how heavy the snow was intended to be, had he considered what the citizens would think about it. He and Kuo gave their answers that they had discussed before. After more probing and assuring the mayor sat up in his chair.

"You seem to have taken care into planning this, MacGrath. The girl's story is tragic, and this is something that could bring more revenue into the city. Already we have you for a hero, but flooding the news with your selfless charity, we'll need to make room for more building projects."

Cole frowned. In the end, politics were politics. They were always out for more brownie points to get re-elected. He did understand, however, that since the hurricane a lot of people were forced to leave New Marais to flee to safety. The population never recovered and rebuilding the town was a hefty job.

"Listen, no offense..." Kuo bit her lip as he started, hoping he wouldn't say something to displease the mayor, "but the girl has been through a lot. The last thing she needs is a bunch of reporters swarming her asking her a million questions." Then Cole paused, watching the man's face. He still needed authorization to make it snow. "You can have your publicity as long as you don't tell them her's or her father's name. No information that would lead them to her. If they need a story, they can talk to me."

There was silence as the two watched each other, like a game of poker. After clearing his throat, Tatou sat up in his leather chair and responded, "You drive a hard bargain, Cole. But without the clearance to change the weather there would be no story at all, would there? Very well, you have my permission as long as you take full responsibility."

Cole nodded without hesitation with a grateful smile. "Of course. I appreciate it, sir. I'll be there tonight to light the tree."

Once negotiations were done, Kuo and Cole parted ways. She headed toward the clock tower to help prepare for the ceremony while he finally made his way to the hospital. If anything he wanted to get out of that office just so he could meet Trevor at last.

Cole approached the counter where the hospital receptionist sat busily typing away on her computer. When he asked what room officer Williams had been assigned, she didn't ask if he as a relative or for what purposes he needed to see the patient. She only told him the room number—417—and asked that he left his Amp with her. Superheroes might not need family clearance, but rules were rules.

He avoided the elevator completely, since the electricity in his body would likely disable them, and took the eight flights of stairs to the fourth floor. Normal people might have complained about climbing the stairs, something that never bothered Cole as he climbed entire buildings for fun.

At the top on the fourth floor, he found the usual hospital wing linked with closed and open rooms alike. Computers littered the hallways and nurses buzzed to and fro caring for their patients. Curiously, Cole glanced into a few open doors, finding bedridden people coughing and wheezing, spilling their guts and wallowing in their own accidental mess. The sounds of their heart monitors slowly declining was a harsh reminder to Cole that the plague never took a break. It didn't have holidays. The hospital was constantly being filled, then emptied, filled back up then dumped the bodies in a compacted graveyard. It was something Cole didn't want to think about, but a cure still didn't exist and he wasn't going to give up until one was found.

Finally he came upon the seventeenth room where he found a dirty-blond haired man sitting up in his bed. He appeared to be abnormally skinny, the bones on his arms were more pronounced than in a normal person but not outrageously, and his cheek bones slightly protruded from his face. The man didn't notice Cole as he was taking gracious bites out of cafeteria-made meatloaf and potatoes.

"Officer Williams," Cole spoke up. "May I come in?"

The man looked to him and gave a welcome smile, "Of course, mister MacGrath," he ushered, "Make yourself at home."

Cole entered and took a chair near the bed. He looked the man over once more, reveling in the fact that he had tracked him down alive.

"You seem to be doing very well for a hostage." He complimented.

"They treat me well here," said the bedridden man before taking a swig of hot coffee. "the nurses said they'd let me go tomorrow now that I've gotten strength back, as long as I keep up with the regimen they have me on. Sort of a Christmas present. Who wants to be in the hospital on Christmas?"

"That's great." Cole nodded and faked a smile. He didn't have the heart to tell him that the reason was most likely they needed the bed space for more plague victims. Normally, the doctors were supposed to keep him until he had regained most of his muscle mass back and he was in healthier condition. But no, he was half-way done recover, it'd be better to make room for the ones that had no chance at walking out the door again. Maybe the logic came from the morgue being across the street.

"The sooner the better," said officer Williams, setting down his cup to look Cole square in the eye. "I've got a lot to make up for since the militia captured me."

"That's actually why I've come here, sir," Cole leaned in towards him. "I found your children yesterday, begging for money in an alley near Saint Ignatius."

For a few seconds, Trevor seemed too stunned to speak. Then he shoved the dinner tray away and grasped one of Cole's hands with both of his. "God bless you, Cole MacGrath! Bless you!" He gave his wrists a few tugs for gratefulness. "Please tell me you helped them, that you got them somewhere safe!"

Cole swallowed as his heart sank like a tug boat in a typhoon. The praise was nothing new, it came with all his selfless deeds. But trying to find a way to break the news softly that one of his children had been killed was probably harder than any battle he'd ever had fighting evil.

"Uhh…" He shook his head as he stuttered. "Actually, sir... your son was shot by a random gunman right after I found them.

The officer's face saddened and his hands eased on their grip.

"I caught the shooter and had him arrested. He'll be charged with murder and I'l present myself and two others as witnesses. He won't get away with it."

Trevor lay back in his bed, removing his hands and slowly plopped his head on the pillow, devastated and still. He gave a hefty sight as the corner of his mouth creased downwards and his chin wrinkled as his eyes welled up. His bottom lip trembled as he inhaled a sobbing breath.

"What about my daughter? Is she okay?"

Cole placed his arm on the mattress to come in closer to comfort him. "She's safe, I promise. I took her to the church and there is someone there at all times taking care of her. They are feeding her and giving her a place to stay. When she told me how the militia came and kidnapped you, leaving her there with your wife's body, I knew I had to find you. In fact, it was the man who killed her who helped me find you."

Even with the mention of his late wife, Trevor's mood seemed to brighten despite tears still dripping down his face. "Thank you, Cole. There's nothing I could ever do to repay you. As soon as I am released tomorrow, I'll be at the church to see her."

My friend smiled; unbelievably proud to have found the man he had been searching for and turn a series of unfortunate events into a Christmas miracle. "I'm sure there's nothing Lilly would want more for Christmas. She told me if it snowed tonight that she'd believe in Santa Claus." He paused a moment to laugh. "I don't think she'd expect Santa to bring her father back to her as a Christmas present."

Lilly's father laughed as well. "Yes, while everyone else gets pajamas, gift cards and video games, we are gifted with being together again. It's the most pure interpretation of Christmas there is."

"That's true," Cole agreed. At its most basic form, without the religion, presents, Santa Claus and reindeer, the holidays were about cherishing time with family. The simplest gift is life and the presence of those you love. All the other stuff was for show and the kids who had yet to understand how valuable life was and the time spent with family. "But that doesn't mean snow is out of the question."

Trevor looked to him in wonder. "Something tells me bringing families together isn't the only miracle you're capable of."

"I have a friends who's agreed to make it snow tonight using her powers. It should last through tomorrow and by the 26th we'll be back to wearing shorts and t-shirts."

"Hm," the man smiled. "Going out of your way to make a natural impossibility happen just to make my daughter happy… You truly are a saint."

"So…you'd be okay with it snowing?" Cole asked mostly because his discussion with Kuo about her concerns still lingered in his pestering thoughts.

"Sure, I don't have a problem with it. I'd just need to bundle up in extra clothes, but I do appreciate the advanced notice."

"Would you like me to bring you some warmer clothes?" asked Cole as he observed the medical gown draped over Trevor's thin body.

"No, no, thank you," Shook the officer's head. "I've got a change of clothes in my suitcase."

Cole looked at his suitcase, large and stuffed. Probably brought to him from a family member. "Then at least let me get you a ride. My friend Zeke can come pick you up and bring you to church first thing in the morning."

The officer agreed. The two bid their farewells and seasonal partings before Cole left the room. He couldn't help but glance back into the rooms filled with Plague victims. While he was curing homelessness and a separated family, others were still dying. He tried to push it away and focus on his current goal. He may have had superpowers, but he was just one man. If he could solve world hunger in one day he would. Sometimes that seemed easier than curing the Plague.

'_One thing at a time...'_ he told himself.

That night at the base of the clock tower, a massive crowd gathered in the square. The roads were blocked off and traffic was detoured around the area. The three of us went together—Cole, Lilly and myself—while Kuo came on her own time. She had agreed to hide out on a nearby rooftop to make the snow seem believable for Lilly's sake.

People pushed and clamored around trying to get a better look at Cole, their rough-housing made the girl apprehensive and stand closer to his side. I volunteered to do security detail for him since he was busy keeping her out of harm's way. "Calm your horses, people...and back off! You'll be able to see him just fine from the stage."

"Seems like only yesterday everyone I passed on the street chucked rocks at me. Now they throw praise around like they never hated me to begin with."

"Life's good, ain't it, brother?"

"The recognition's all well and good but...ask me again when we cure the plague."

After a few minutes of waiting, the mayor finally appeared and took his place at the podium beside the enormous Christmas tree, bigger than the one Cole had set up in the church. He was met with a gentle roar of applauds from his citizens as he turned on the mic and said "Good evening."

After everyone settled down he continued to speak.

Then a firm hand grasped Cole's arm. "Hey, Cole." He turned his head to find Nix looking not too jolly. In fact, she looked downright pissed. "What's this I keep hearing about you makin' it snow?"

"Shh," he took her hand and lowered it from his bicep. "Let's keep that on the down-low for a few minutes, okay?" Looking down, Lilly didn't seem to hear her or grasp the exact meaning of Nix's words.

"You doin' it just for her? What about me? Did you ever think to ask me if I was okay with this?"

With his hand still on hers, he took her away from the crowd asking me to watch Lilly for a sec. He focused on the mayor's voice as they distanced themselves from the horde of people waiting for his cue. Once they were far enough away to where no one would hear them, he removed his hand and looked to her, crossing his arms. "Alright, Nix. _Are_ you okay with it?"

"Do I _look_ like I'm okay with it?" She gestured to all of herself, implying that her attire was the exact opposite of what one would wear during snowy weather.

"That's nothing a quick trip to the store won't fix," Cole insisted.

Nix, being as hot-tempered as she always was, answered with, "I do what I want. Not what some know-nothing kid wants." She watched as his expression quickly began to match hers. "Come on, baby... You don't really care about her that much, do you? You found her yesterday."

"What does that matter to you?" Cole knew that Nix tended to care about one thing—herself. Finding interest in his concerns was unusual, unless they directly involved her own.

"'Cause no one gets that uptight about someone they've known for a day. You don't care about what she wants either."

He frowned. Before he could reply with something he had wanted to tell everyone who displeased his idea, he heard the mayor begin to wrap up his monologue and change topic to Cole. He shortened his protest to a simple, "I suggest you find a new change of clothes before all the stores close for the holidays."

Then he moved through the sea of people back to the stage in time for the mayor to finish introductions. Climbing the steps to the clock tower's base he humbly accepted the applauds. He approached Tatou and shook his hand as a hand-off of attention. Stepping away from the microphone, the mayor wished him luck before moving to the side to give priority to Cole.

Now he waited for the welcoming applauds and cheers to end before beginning. "Thank you, I appreciate the welcome." He paused for a second to think of his next words. When none came to mind he only gave a short chuckle before saying, "Unlike the mayor I didn't plan out my speech the night before. So you'll have to bear with me here..." This got a small hum of laughter from the attendees.

When they calmed again, Cole threw a quick outline together in his head and began to speak, saying whatever came to mind, trying to avoid as many trips between words as he could. "A few months ago when I came to New Marais, I wasn't given the same hospitality you all give me today. People threw rocks at me...marched in protest against me. It hurt, sure. But not as much as Bertrand was hurting you all." People looked to him solemnly in patience, remembering the time he spoke of. "But I wasn't about to leave, not without giving you guys a chance to rebuild yourselves. And even though Bertrand is gone, replaced by our wonderful friend Mayor Tatou...we've still got a long way to go."

Total silence fell upon the crowd. They listened intently, weighing each of his words as he continued.

"So many of you were left without homes, without jobs after the hurricane. Bertrand coming only made it worse. But I still won't leave—not until these hard times pass. And even after then, I'll still be here for you. That's why I'm here tonight to light the tree... Because from here on, the future can only get brighter. We can only move forward, out of the tragedy and into better lives. Let us take this time to cherish friends and family, because like me, they'll always be there for you—through good and bad times. And with that being said..."

He stepped back from the stand and the audience waited anxiously to watch him display his marvelous powers. With a quick flick of the wrist a small bolt lightning shot from his hand and into the lowest tier of lights. Connected by a series of circuits, the electricity traveled through each tiny bulb, filling the tree with a myriad of color one by one. At the end of its journey the star at the top glowed brilliantly, inviting more cheers and claps as the people rejoiced in the tree's magnificent light.

Beside me Lilly squirmed and giggled. "It's just like magic!"

"Yup," I smiled at her, removing the sunglasses from my eyes to fully enjoy the spectacle. "He's pretty magical alright."

Cole waited again, this time for many seconds, for the crowd to rest. He looked to Kuo high above atop the building across the street who flashed him a thumbs up.

"There's just one last thing I'd like to say." The gathering of people looked to him with expectant gazes. His powers and the tree had completely changed the mood of the scene to a more cheery disposition. "Yesterday I found a little girl, homeless and alone on the street. I brought her to Saint Ignatius to give her a hot meal and a place to sleep. When I asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she told me that Santa didn't exist because it never snowed in New Marais." Another small scattering string of laughs resounded for a moment. "If I told you it was going to snow tonight, would any of you believe me?" there came a clatter of "no's" and negative answers. "Then you all might want to look again..."

With a subtle hand gesture, he gave Kuo the signal.

She gathered her powers, delicately focusing on chilling the air in the area. Then in one burst of energy, she sent ice into the sky. With everyone distracted by looking a the clouds, Cole used his powers to agitate the electric bonds in the clouds to cause it to rain. With Kuo's powers combining with his, the falling water had magically transformed into snow on the way down to earth.

The flakes came slowly at first, causing the people to gasp and clamor in awe. Then it started to really snow, turning their hair and shoulders white with powder.

I watched as Lilly became astounded, taken aback. She held out her hand, catching a nearly perfect snowflake in her palm. It was cool to the touch and melted between her fingers. A smile came across her face bigger than I had ever seen a kid smile. Laughing with glee, she began to jump around with unbridled joy.

"It's snowing! It's snowing!" She spun around trying to catch it in her mouth.

Looking to Cole, I could easily say the same about his smile. It had been a long time since he was that happy, since before he had his powers. It reminded me of the look he had on his face when he talked about Trish after he first met her.

I didn't doubt she was on his mind. But if Lilly was just as important to him as she was, who was I to say this was bad idea?


End file.
